Scouts

On Saturday Greg and I took the 12-13yr old scouts down to the river to learn how to paddle a raft and how to make a fire. It was ok weather, but the wind was blowing so hard. It was relentless! The river sort of flows in a direction, but not enough to move your raft much. So we paddled into the wind towards a small alcove where we planned to let the boys out of the boats and go exploring. We were not even halfway there when I started thinking, "This is not going to work. We will have to turn around and head back before we get there." The wind kept blowing harder and harder. Sometimes it would let down for a minute, but we could look at the water ahead of us and see it coming. We pushed ourselves harder and amazingly we made it! It was fun to be around the boys and see how they interacted with each other. They sort of reminded me of puppies--the way they had so much energy and just took off in all directions to go play and explore. I'm somewhat new to this thing of hanging out with 12 year old boys, but I think it was fun overall.

(We thought we would be the only adult leaders on this trip, but the dad of one of the boys came and another adult leader. I was glad...I felt a little overwhelmed at the idea of being responsible for so many boys on this trip!)


When we got back from our paddling adventure Greg gathered the boys around and showed them how to build a fire. With all the wind, our fire lit up right away and we were roasting hot dogs before we knew it! After all that paddling it was a good thing we could eat so quickly...Everybody worked up a big appetite!

We had a couple hours left so we let the boys run around and play. I was amazed at how well they could stay entertained in just a small area outside with rocks to climb and water to throw rocks in. We could have left them alone for a few days and I think they would have had fun the whole time.

Greg earned the boys' respect by jumping off the cliff into the water after dinner. We all thought he was crazy, but the boys had fun cheering and yelling when he did the deed.


Once the rafts were dry, Greg showed them how to fold them up and load them back in the trailer. We broke out the s'mores and the fun continued until our carpool parents showed up. It wasn't until we were starting to drive away that all the boys came running to get in the cars. Next time I think we'll plan an overnight camping trip.

At the end of the night I was worn out and sore from paddling and chasing boys. (Well, I didn't actually chase any boys, but you know...) It was a lot of fun and I look forward to going with Greg again.

Tro Lo Lo! You've been missing out!

My parents came to visit last week and we shared this with them. I thought you should all have the chance to enjoy it as well. I think it's nice that so many people can be inspired and brought together by this song that was censored in Russia.






Crazy version live--in case you couldn't get enough of it.









Is that song stuck in your head yet?

Happy Mother's Day!

This is what I wore to church today. My pink sweater and pretty heart necklace are both from Mom. I liked wearing them today especially because I thought of Mom whenever I saw myself in the mirror or got a compliment on the necklace. Maybe I should wear it every day. =)



I love you Mom!

Osama bin Laden is dead

Last night at the end of my choir concert I went next door to the building where the choir hangs out for intermission. I was starting to help straighten up the green room and gather trash when the man who owns the building strutted in and announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US Forces. Bin Laden was shot in the head as he tried to hide behind a woman in his complex in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan. What a loser.

Glen Beck was emotional on the radio this morning as he announced the victory, and recalled the events of September 11th when Osama made war on our beloved country. One news article said the mission was to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, but I have to say I'm glad they killed him.


From Wikipedia:
"Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. According to the New York State Health Department, 836 responders, including firefighters and police personnel, have died as of June 2009. Among the 2,752 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. In addition, there was at least one secondary death—one person was ruled by a medical examiner to have died from lung disease due to exposure to dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center."

As Glen Beck said this morning, "Thank God that Osama bin Laden is dead."

Gretchen

She looks like a little doll! So Cute!


I don't really have time to do a whole post about visiting Summer and family in La Grande right now, but I'm tired of seeing that post about the disgusting okra on my blog. haha.

I thought I would put this cute picture of Gretchen up so we can all have something cute to look at instead. =) I loved visiting and seeing Summer's kids again over the weekend. I'm surprised every time at how much they have all changed since the last time we were there. Ginger keeps looking more and more like a little young lady, and she has lots of funny stories to tell and songs to sing. Jack is no longer a toddler, but looks more like a little boy. He's talking a lot and is fun to tickle and chase! I can just point at his tickle spot and he giggles and runs away. hahaha! And little Gretchen isn't a tiny baby anymore! She's cute and playful. She can crawl pretty fast, and likes to interact, talk, and play. I could have sat and played with her for the whole visit.

Greg had fun playing with the kids too.


I miss them already, and we've only been home a couple days.

Oh Okra!

On our quest for better health, Greg and I have been trying a number of new vegetables. For the most part we have been happy with our new discoveries, but tonight was definitely a failure. We've never tried okra and had no idea would it would taste like. While it was cooking I thought it smelled "Green".


Greg dished up first and ate all of the okra on his plate while I happily ate my delicious Tilapia. Greg asked if I had tried the okra yet and I said no. He didn't want to tell me what it tasted like or if he liked it, so I knew something bad was coming. I took a bite and started chewing. The flavor was fine, but in the few seconds of chewing, somehow the vegetable in my mouth turned into a big mouthful of snot. Gross! It was so disgusting! I had to jump up and spit it out to keep myself from gagging. I didn't even try to swallow.
(This is a picture of some okra slime. It happens just by cutting into the fruit once. Sick.)


I'm not sure who decided okra is an eatable food, but I think they were crazy. It reminded me of those "snot fish" we saw on Dirty Jobs and MythBusters. Those fish are a type of eel that continuously produce slimy snot as a defense. And that's exactly what happened with the okra when I started chewing it. Gross gross!


If you happen to like okra, please comment and explain yourself. Maybe you have a good recipe that keeps the snot thing from happening...?


On a positive note, you may have noticed I mentioned my delicious Tilapia. We've tried a few recipes that were all good, but this is the one we made tonight:



3 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint leaves
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total), halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Some extra virgin olive oil
Some lemon juice (Oil and lemon juice were not measured. We just poured it until it looked good.)

We mixed up all the spices and made a kind of soup by adding some lemon juice and the olive oil in a bowl. Then we brushed the mixture onto the fish and baked it at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. You can flip it halfway through if you want. If your fish is thicker it might need to cook longer. Our fish was really thin on parts and really thick in the middle, so it had to cook longer.


Sorry, I didn't get a picture. I found this online in case you were wondering what raw tilapia looks like. When it's done baking, it should be white (not see-through at all) and it should flake easily. When I took it out the first time I tried to cut a thick part and it was kind of chewy and hard to cut. That means it's not done.

After we got over the grossness of the okra, I steamed some broccoli to have with our fish instead. Definitely a good choice. I think my favorite vegetables to have are steamed broccoli and cauliflower mixed.

What are your favorite vegetables and how do you like them? (Raw or cooked in a special way?)

What's new with Choir

I'm singing in the Idaho Washington Concert Chorale again. It's been fun to see all my old friends again, and interesting as I sing in the soprano section. (I usually sing alto, but this time I auditioned the director said my voice "Really wants to sing soprano.")

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a sneak preview of the beautiful music we're going to sing. (This is not my choir.) Actually, I think it's probably going to scare all the kids in the audience. It sounds like crazy chaos for most of the song. It's like the soundtrack for an action adventure movie with religious undertones. (The words are sung in Hebrew.)



There's a part in the 2nd movement where they write in the music for the women to sing "Blissfully unaware of Danger." At the same time the men are supposed to sing, "Savagely." Do you think you can recognize that part? The women's part really is pretty.



I won't put the rest of the song and give it away for the people going to the concert. I have to leave a few surprises to jolt you awake for the rest of the song. (Don't you love how it lulls you to sleep and then surprises you with a bang? haha.) We really are singing other songs that are pretty, so don't be afraid to come to the concert. One of my favorites is, "Sure on this Shining Night." It's soft and peaceful.



The other exciting thing is that we will be getting new dresses for the choir. Our current dress is like a big black tent, best fit for wearing to the funeral of someone you don't like. They haven't made an official decision yet, but I think we will get the dress that I like the best. It's a velvet top and a separate skirt with pretty sparkles.

Treasure Hunt!

I forgot to finish and post this! This is from the first week in January. I made a treasure hunt activity for the kids at church for our Wednesday night activity. It was lots of fun--to plan and to participate!



I started by looking up scriptures that could be used as clues. For instance, one clue was Hosea 7:6. "For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night..." So they would go find their next clue in the kitchen of the church around the oven. I came up with 13 clues so they would stay busy for about an hour.

This activity involved all the kids (girls and boys) 12-18 yrs, so I had a large group to work with. I divided them into 6 teams, each with an adult leader to keep the group on track. Each team had their own set of clues to find around the church, and each group leader had a cheat sheet in case they couldn't figure out the clue, or the clue was taken by another group or person. With each clue there was a small assignment. Some of them were silly, like, "Jump up and down while patting your head and rubbing your stomach." Most of them were serious, like case studies about what to do in a certain situation. It was fun to walk around the church and see groups of kids excitedly flipping through their scriptures and running to the next clue.

At the end we all met in the gym for a closing prayer and treats. My partner in crime (another adult leader named Kathy) made the treasure chest cake, along with a bunch of cupcakes for the treat. I thought the cake was so cute! I wish I had a good excuse to make one now.

Mega Mind

Our friends invited us to go see this with their family and it was fun. Greg actually got shushed by the kid behind us for laughing too much.



I found this clip that is short and funny. All the trailers I could find basically showed the entire movie with the slow parts cut out, so don't watch those.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is fun because I have an excuse to make cookies and treats and give them to people.

(You can pick which picture to look at...one is flash and the other is no flash.)



The above pictures are the "Heart Attack" I did for my neighbor friend. My girls at church did this for an activity on Wednesday for a few people at church. I thought it was fun.

I made cookies and took some to be delivered to my girls at school today. It thought that would be a fun surprise. It was always the coolest thing to have something brought to you at school. I remember for my birthday one year, Wendy brought a small birthday cake to me at school during my lunch time. That was so cool! I got to serve birthday cake to my friends, and we got to stay at lunch a little bit late for the special occasion. I kind of feel like I get to do "Big Sister Stuff" for my 14-15yr old girls at church now, since I was never a big sister before. I think I would have liked to be a big sister.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope it's a good one. What fun things are you doing (or other people are doing for you) today?